Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 13,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRU. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 312.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,183 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,856,000. Econ Financial Services Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,662,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 40,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,176,000 after acquiring an additional 9,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 384,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,878,000 after purchasing an additional 85,072 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $108.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $123.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $17.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.77 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.18%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total transaction of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,204.15. This represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,618,974.44. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PRU. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.80.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.